What factors predict women's disclosure of sexual assault to mental health professionals?

Starzynski, Laura L.; Ullman, Sarah E.; Townsend, Stephanie; Long, LaDonna; Long, Susan E.

doi:10.1002/jcop.20168

Cited by 114 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Such factors include having more stereotypical assaults involving strangers, violence, injury, or life threat (Orchowski & Gidycz, 2012; Walsh et al, 2015; Wolitzky-Taylor et al, 2011), a history of disclosing to more people or seeking emotional support to cope (Carretta et al, 2015), receiving more positive and fewer negative reactions to disclosure (Relyea & Ullman, 2015), and having a White racial identity as compared to having a African-American racial identity or other non-White identities (Kennedy, et. al., 2012; Starzynski, Ullman, Townsend, Long, & Long, 2007). Possibly due to greater access to resources, women with higher education engage in more mental health seeking (Ullman, 2007).…”

Section: The Current Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting the Effects of Sexual Assault Research Participation: Reactions, Perceived Insight, and Help-Seeking

Kirkner

Relyea

Ullman

2016

J Interpers Violence

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This study examined effects of participating in survey research for women sexual assault survivors with other trauma histories to understand the role of study participation on reported insight and long-term help-seeking behaviors. A diverse sample of 1,863 women from a large Midwestern city participated in a three-year study on women’s experiences with sexual assault. Regression analyses were conducted to: a) examine predictors of immediate positive and negative reactions to survey participation, and b) assess the impact of the survey on reported insight and women’s long-term help-seeking behavior. Overall most women in the study had a higher positive than negative reaction to the survey (92%), with a significant proportion indicating they sought additional services as a result of participating (55%). Women with CSA, more emotion dysregulation, and more characterological self-blame had more negative reactions to the survey while those with more education and individual adaptive coping had more positive reactions. Women who said they gained insight from answering survey questions were most likely to seek additional help. This study extends the literature by examining cumulative trauma and post-assault symptoms in relation to the effects of survey participation. This is also the first study of women sexual assault survivors to find a relationship between gaining reported insight from research and subsequent help-seeking. Participating in sexual assault research may help survivors gain greater insight into their recovery, which can lead them to seek out more resources for their ongoing trauma-related problems.

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Section: The Current Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting the Effects of Sexual Assault Research Participation: Reactions, Perceived Insight, and Help-Seeking

Kirkner

Relyea

Ullman

2016

J Interpers Violence

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“…For example, older adults have been found to seek higher levels of mental health support following a violent crime compared to their younger counterparts (Jaycox et al, 2004; Lewis et al, 2005; Starzynski, Ullman, Townsend, Long, & Long, 2007; Wong et al, 2009). In comparison to other ethnic groups, White adults are significantly more likely to seek support from a mental health professional (Amstadter, McCauley, Ruggiero, Resnick, & Kilpatrick, 2008; Gavrilovic, Schutzwohl, Fazel, & Priebe, 2005; Golding, Siegel, Sorenson, Burnam, & Stein, 1989; Johnson & Zlotnick, 2007; New & Berliner, 2000; Starzynski et al, 2007; Ullman & Breklin, 2002) and are more likely to report using prayer as a strategy for coping with interpersonal violence (El-Khoury et al, 2004). In reference to marital status, single and divorced adults appear more likely than married individuals to utilize psychological services following crime victimization (Amstadter et al, 2008; New & Berliner, 2000).…”

Section: Predictors Of Help Seekingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In reference to marital status, single and divorced adults appear more likely than married individuals to utilize psychological services following crime victimization (Amstadter et al, 2008; New & Berliner, 2000). One study also revealed that in a sample of female sexual assault victims, women identifying as lesbian or bisexual were more likely than heterosexual women to seek mental health services (Starzynski et al, 2007). …”

Section: Predictors Of Help Seekingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Help seeking among victims of crime: A review of the empirical literature

McCart

Smith

Sawyer

2010

Journal of Traumatic Stress

129

103

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This paper reviews the literature on help-seeking behavior among adult victims of crime. Specifically, the paper summarizes prevalence rates for formal and informal help seeking and reviews predictors of and barriers to service use following victimization. Research suggests that only a small fraction of crime victims seek help from formal support networks; however, many seek support from informal sources. Several variables are associated with increased likelihood of formal help seeking, although the manner in which these variables affect reporting behavior is not clear. From this review, it is concluded that much remains to be learned regarding patterns of help seeking among victims of crime. Gaps in the literature and directions for future research are discussed.

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“…Given White women are more likely to disclose this information to mental health professionals (Campbell, Wasco, Ahrens, Sefl, & Barnes, 2001), it is plausible ethnicity plays a significant role in the disclosure of SA experiences (Bryant-Davis, Chung, & Tillman, 2009;Starzynski, Ullman, Townsend, Long, & Long, 2007). There has been some qualitative exploration of this theme, with findings indicating several key reasons for nondisclosure by African American women such as racism within the community and criminal justice systems (Washington, 2001), more negative social reactions on disclosure (Ullman & Filipas, 2001), and skepticism of African American women's claims of assault (Donovan & Williams, 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

African American and White Women’s Experience of Sexual Assault and Services for Sexual Assault

Weist

Kinney

Taylor

et al. 2014

Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma

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What factors predict women's disclosure of sexual assault to mental health professionals?

Cited by 114 publications

References 51 publications

Predicting the Effects of Sexual Assault Research Participation: Reactions, Perceived Insight, and Help-Seeking

Predicting the Effects of Sexual Assault Research Participation: Reactions, Perceived Insight, and Help-Seeking

Help seeking among victims of crime: A review of the empirical literature

African American and White Women’s Experience of Sexual Assault and Services for Sexual Assault

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